09/01/2025

Tips to Increase the Profitability of Private Practice

By Karen Chopra

Independent career practitioners make money by selling their time. When an independent practitioner sees a client or delivers training, they get paid. Therefore, a successful private practice must bill as many client hours as possible. Too many independent practitioners, despite doing excellent work for clients, are undercompensated. Establishing basic office policies can help ensure that practitioners are fairly compensated for their work.

Does this mean that a practice must require a credit card swipe before drafting an email, or that it must nickel and dime clients for every minute spent with them? No, but creating a robust set of office policies can help a practitioner set boundaries on their time and support a consistent income. This is especially important for solo practitioners because clear policies can help practitioners make decisions about how to use their time, while also maintaining a profitable practice.

Effective Cancellation Policies

Last minute cancellations can wreak havoc with income flow. A clear, easily enforced cancellation policy can help prevent income loss. Twenty-four hours’ notice for a cancelled session should be the minimum. Forty-eight or even 72 hours allows adequate time to fill the session. If a client cancels after the cancellation window closes, the practitioner should charge the full fee for the late cancellation. A practitioner’s cancellation policy should be clearly stated in the informed consent, and the practitioner should verbally describe the cancellation policy during the client’s first session. As helping professionals, practitioners can create limited exceptions to the cancellation policy to support clients in times of crisis. Possible exceptions may include waiving the cancellation fee for emergencies, for example, in cases where the client or a family member has required an ambulance or emergency room. With a clear policy in place, practitioners are less likely to lose income to last-minute cancellations.

Work Outside of Scheduled Sessions

Doing unpaid work for a client after or between sessions may not seem like a problem until one considers the math. For a practice with a $200 hourly fee, doing just 15 minutes of post-session work for 10 clients each week leads to the loss of $500 in income, equivalent to 2½ client hours. Practitioners should develop a system for taking care of almost all follow-up work during the scheduled client session. Taking notes about follow up work by the client, resources, and topics discussed during the session in a document that can be either photocopied and handed to the client at the end of the session or emailed as the session ends reduces follow-up work. New AI transcription tools can help provide the client with a record of the session without additional work on the part of the practitioner. The goal is to have no work for clients that must be done after a session is complete.

Uncompensated time spent on calls and emails can go unnoticed. Most practitioners do not charge for brief calls or emails. Calls lasting more than 10 or 15 minutes, and emails that require more than a sentence or two in response should have an associated charge.

Creating a policy on calls and emails, and stating that policy in the informed consent, ensures that practitioners are not spending hours of uncompensated time on long phone calls or emails that should be handled in a session. In addition to a clear informed consent policy, practitioners can employ technology tools, such as scheduling software, so that clients know the cost of the time they are requesting. Automating billing for sessions and calls further reduces uncompensated time.

Endless intake calls are another source of lost income. Clients should be afforded a brief opportunity to speak with a career professional before committing to a paid session. Free introductory calls should be limited to 15-20 minutes. Scheduling intake calls in blocks or right before another commitment can help practitioners stick to the stated time limit.

Pro Bono Work

Career professionals are often asked to offer their services pro bono, by seeing a client for free, participating in free resume review sessions, or leading free workshops and webinars. Having clear policies on the types of services a practitioner will offer pro bono introduces discernment into the process. A small liberal arts school might qualify for a free salary negotiation workshop, but a well-funded MBA program should pay for training for their students. Set clear limits on the number of pro bono sessions offered in the practice.  When the limit is reached, clients can be informed that all pro bono slots are currently full.

Work Only During Work Hours

Finally, many career professionals reduce hourly income by working nights, weekends and holidays. Even in a solo private practice, the workday and work week should be clearly defined. At the end of the day/week, work ceases until the next working day. Letting work expand to fill time available means a diminution of the hourly rate. Automated emails can help set boundaries on weekend and vacation time.

By instituting clear, easily communicated policies on late cancellations, work outside the session and pro bono work, career practitioners can recapture lost income. For a practice with a $200 hour fee, 30 recaptured minutes each week will add $5,200 to the practice’s annual income. Reducing uncompensated time will not only increase income but increase work satisfaction and reduce burnout.

Karen James Chopra, LPC, CCC, NCC, has been in private practice for more than 25 years. Her specialties include career clarity, salary negotiations and private practice consulting. She is the creator of the Certified Salary Negotiation Specialist (CSNS) credential, and the author of Coaching Career Clients Through Salary and Other Workplace Negotiations. She can be reached at Karen@ChopraCareers.com or through her website: https://chopracareers.com/